Touched by the Fear

[8]

Hollis stepped out of the bathroom wearing a borrowed top and pajama bottoms from Allison. She plopped down on the bed beside her and sighed. The strange events of that night had exhausted her yet she felt wide-awake. With a tired smile, she took the cup of hot tea off the nightstand and brought it to her lips, taking a tentative sip. She leaned back against the pillows and turned to look at Allison, who had on a troubled expression. They hadn't spoken of the party since she had stepped into the Argent's house. But she could see the worry, confusion and hurt on her face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hollis asked gently.

Allison sighed and shrugged. "Kind of? I don't know. I still have no idea what actually happened."

"Ali, I've known Scott since like kindergarten. He's a good guy. And all he talked about was going to the party with you."

"So, why did he leave me stranded there?" She questioned, shooting a pained look towards Hollis.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Stiles and I went to check on him before coming here. Scott told him that he wasn't feeling well. Caught a bug or something," she said, echoing Stiles' words. Even as she said them, she doubted them. If Scott had really been sick, why hadn't he asked for help? Or why didn't he ask someone to drive him home? Hollis didn't want to seem uncertain in front of Allison so she pushed those doubts out of her head. "Trust me, he wouldn't just leave if he didn't have a good reason."

Allison's face was hard to read. "I guess." She didn't sound convinced and, Hollis couldn't blame her. "But at least he had Derek take me home," she added, directing a small smile in her direction. "What do you know about him? Derek, I mean. He seemed...mysterious."

"Not much," she answered truthfully. "Just that he's a few years older than us, and he's had a hard life. His entire family died in a fire ten years ago. Someone set fire to his house. He was in class when it happened, I think, or at least that's what everyone's saying. He left Beacon Hills a while back but I guess he's back in town."

"Wow, that's terrible," Allison whispered. "Do they know who did it?"

"I don't think so," Hollis told her with a shake of her head.

They stayed quiet then, mulling things over. Hollis could see that Allison was still stressing over Scott; she wished that she could reassure her that everything would be okay, that Scott's leaving the party was just a misunderstanding. But she couldn't. Not only did she not understand most of it herself but she knew that it had to be Scott to do the reassuring.

"What happened with you and Carter?" Allison asked, breaking through her thoughts. "You came to the party with him but then you showed up with Stiles...wearing his jacket."

"There's not much to tell," she told her with a shrug. She took a strand of hair between her fingers and absentmindedly played with it. "But remember how I said that I would be okay at the party? Well, I wasn't," Hollis admitted with a sigh. "Carter and I had a fight...again. I don't want to talk about that right now." She shook her head as his words swam through her mind. Shaking them, she continued. "Anyway, Stiles found me outside and we just talked. I got cold so he lent me his jacket," she said casually. "And then when we saw Scott and you leave, we decided to check on you guys to make sure you were okay. And that's all there is to it."

Allison nodded, a smile playing on her lips. "Sounds like both our nights didn't turn out as planned."

Hollis laughed and nodded in agreement. "I think Lydia and Jackson are the only ones who had a normal night."

The screen of Hollis' phone lit up just then and both girls looked down. Hollis went to reach for it but Allison was faster. "And speaking of the guy who's jacket you wore," she teased.